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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121384">Broken Circle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf'>WhiteravenGreywolf</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lovecraft Country (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet Ending, Except Titus, F/F, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, I'm so tired of them killing the wlw characters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:20:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,623</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121384</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A few days before the equinox, Christina and Ruby find out the hard way that Titus Braithwhite isn't dead, and he's not pleased that his female descendent is trying to achieve immortality.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Christina Braithwhite/Ruby Baptiste, Ruby Baptiste/Christina Braithwhite</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>120</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys! This story needed to be exorcised out of me. I couldn't sleep last night because I kept thinking about Lovecraft Country, and all the scenes between Christina and Ruby, and how this ending felt like it wouldn't stand on the characters we've been given but on alegories... Anyway. I've been working on this all day, it was so long I had to cut it in half but don't worry, you'll get part 2 tomorrow!<br/>I basically wanted to see whether it was possible to change the ending by simply inserting a still living Titus in the narrative as the final antagonist. I kept as much as I could from the show, and rewrote from there. So we start around episode 7 and move up to episode 10 (and beyond...) I hope this brings a bit of happiness to everyone like me who's been pretty sad since I saw the finale.<br/>Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy and I'll see you tomorrow for part 2!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ruby had taken the habit of going to the basement whenever the door was open. It was only open whenever Christina was down there anyway. The house was too big, too silent sometimes. Ruby was used to small, cramp apartments where you had to climb over one another to get anywhere. The mansion had been nice at first, but after spending one too many mornings listening to nothing but eerie silence, she started seeking living things, simply for the comfort of knowing she wasn't alone. And there was only one living thing in this house.</p>
<p><br/>
Christina was hard at work when Ruby went to the basement that evening. The blonde was always busy, hunched over one table or another. She'd gotten used to seeing Ruby down there too, for she'd stopped asking her why she'd followed her there. She'd gotten so used to Ruby, in fact, that she'd stopped tensing up every time Ruby so much as touched a piece of paper on a nearby table. Ruby liked to snoop around and question her about what she was working on. If Christina ever suspected that Ruby was spying on her on Leti or Tic's behalf, she'd never made mention of it.</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby walked around the tables in the middle of the basement, looking at everything spread out there. Most of the words she didn't understand. Christina had begun instructing her in magic, but it was an arduous task. Finding free time for it was even harder, as Christina always seemed occupied.</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby passed quietly behind Christina, looking at what she was working on over her shoulder. Christina stopped sketching and froze as she felt Ruby close behind her. Only when Ruby stepped away did she straighten, flipped her long hair over her shoulder, then went back to work. Ruby continued her little tour of the table. She stopped when she found a file she hadn't seen yet. Usually, Christina didn't bother to organize her papers. Somehow she always found whatever she was looking for. Her organization system was pure, incomprehensible chaos, but it was a system still. But this file, she'd never seen before.</p>
<p><br/>
"What's that?"</p>
<p><br/>
She pulled it out from under a few pieces of paper and put it flat on the table, before opening and flipping through. In the file, Ruby found pictures and documents, most of which related to Lancaster and his police force. It seemed either Christina had been watching them, or someone had for her.</p>
<p><br/>
"Does it have anything to do with the thing you made me put in Lancaster's desk?" she asked, shivering as she remembered the barely alive – or not alive at all, she still wasn't sure – person in Lancaster's office.</p>
<p><br/>
"Not exactly. In part. Lancaster doesn't want to admit it but he's working for someone. I just can't seem to figure out who."</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby flipped through a few papers. Some pictures were downright terrifying. Dismembered bodies left abandoned by the side of the road or under a bridge. Ruby skipped through them as quickly as she could, until she finally shut the file and left it there, on the table, on top of the pile of papers.</p>
<p><br/>
"Let me guess? You have a plan to get rid of him."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina smirked. It was that confident smirk Ruby was mostly used to seeing on William, but the sight of it on Christina wasn't so displeasing.</p>
<p><br/>
"Lancaster? I already took care of him. Or should I say we, since you did part of the job."</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby at least felt a bit better now, knowing that hiding into that awful closet hadn't been for nothing.</p>
<p><br/>
"Good. That bastard had it coming."</p><hr/>
<p>Ruby hadn't seen Christina since their arguments back at the house. When she'd suggested that Christina could help Dee for her, she'd been partially afraid that Christina actually wouldn't. That maybe she had misjudged the blonde's interest in her. That perhaps that glimmer she saw in Christina's cold eyes wasn't what she thought it was.</p>
<p><br/>
So to hear Christina agree to it almost immediately was a relief. To see her stride into the apartment with her usual confidence was reassuring. Christina would help Dee, and then all of this mess would be over and she'll finally get some sleep. But of course, it wasn't that easy. Of course, Christina wanted something for it. Of course, Leti was terribly distrusting of not just Christina, but Ruby's judgment.</p>
<p><br/>
The drive home was silent. Ruby watched the houses pass by. She had finally gotten used to the car's wheel being on the wrong side. They parked in the driveway and Ruby walked tiredly to the door. Between getting shot at by the police and this whole mess with Diana, she wanted nothing more than to crash into bed and sleep. Christina was making her way to the basement when she suddenly paused, then started running. Ruby followed with a frown.</p>
<p><br/>
For someone wearing heels, Christina was adept at running down the stairs. Ruby had trouble keeping up with her. At the bottom of the steps, utter chaos awaited them.</p>
<p><br/>
The basement had been completely turned upside down. Papers lied strewed about the room, most of them on the ground. One of the tables had been flipped. Both of the bodies in the corner had been stabbed multiple times. A few vials of potions had been shattered amid the mess, their content soaking through paper or following the cracks in the ground, making bloody lines on the concrete.</p>
<p><br/>
Christina leaned on the nearest wall as if she were about to collapse. Ruby stood beside her in shock, with no idea what to do or say. She did not doubt that Christina wasn't responsible. Even frustrated, Christina never got physically angry. All she did was sigh deeply and start from scratch.</p>
<p><br/>
"I thought you magically sealed the door," Ruby said, for she was at a complete loss for words.</p>
<p><br/>
"I do!" Christina snapped.</p>
<p><br/>
Like a tornado after the hurricane, she made her way through the room briskly, picking up some pieces of paper there, brushing a few others out of her way with her foot. She put them back on the table angrily. Ruby tried to skirt out of her way to check on the two unconscious bodies in the corner. They were completely dead now, she knew. She heard Christina gasp behind her and turned around. She was holding a piece of paper in her hands. When Ruby went to check it out, she saw a message written in blood on one of Christina's paper. It was in the language of Adam, and undecipherable to her.</p>
<p><br/>
"It's a warning," Christina said. "The blood of Adam shall not bow to the will of the daughter."</p>
<p><br/>
The words alone made fury rise in Ruby's chest. She would have suspected some asshole police officers to have done that on the behalf of Lancaster, or in retaliation for what had happened the night before. Probably someone who had waited for Christina to leave.</p>
<p><br/>
"Maybe you forgot to lock before you left this morning," Ruby said, not sure what else there was to say.</p>
<p><br/>
"It had to be last night," Christina said.</p>
<p><br/>
Then, she bitterly crumbled the piece of paper and threw it across the room.</p>
<p><br/>
"You didn't work here last night?" Ruby asked with confusion.</p>
<p><br/>
Christina had spent most of her nights working in the basement in the past few days. The unreadable face the blonde made as she refused to answer Ruby's question was that much more puzzling.</p>
<p><br/>
"I was... out."</p>
<p><br/>
"Out? Didn't you come home last night?"</p>
<p><br/>
"I did, but I went straight to bed."</p>
<p><br/>
Now that was even more suspicious because it meant Christina hadn't gone out as William but as herself. It rarely happened, to Ruby's knowledge.</p>
<p><br/>
"Well, I hope it was worth it because now we have these two to get rid of."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina walked up to William's bedside. The many stab wounds puncturing his chest had barely bled. She quickly began to cast a spell, but the spell didn't seem to take hold. She tried again, but once again, nothing happened.</p>
<p><br/>
"Goddamn it..."</p>
<p><br/>
She placed one hand under her chest while the other rubbed her temples. Ruby wondered for a second if she was going to cry. The next second she turned to Ruby and said:</p>
<p><br/>
"It's your fault. I should have never..."</p>
<p><br/>
But she stopped herself, pursing her lips as if to keep the words inside. Ruby crossed her arms expectantly.</p>
<p><br/>
"No, come on, I want to hear it. How is it my fault, since it so obviously is!"</p>
<p><br/>
"Do you want to know what I did last night? Instead of being here, and stopping whoever did this?"</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby waited with determination in her eyes.</p>
<p><br/>
"You said you wanted me to understand your pain. That's what you said, remember? That you wanted me to understand your pain and your fear? So I did. I paid someone to beat me, and shoot me, and throw me in the lake."</p>
<p><br/>
"Are you insane! That's not what I meant! You could have gotten killed!"</p>
<p><br/>
"I thought I had. I really thought I had for a moment. And I was so afraid that I would, even though I knew that I could stop it at any time. So this is what I did while someone was ransacking my lab! Trying to understand you!"</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby sighed and shook her head. How could this witch be so smart and yet so stupid at the same time?</p>
<p><br/>
"You really went the dumb way into empathizing with people."</p>
<p><br/>
"I couldn't think of anything else," Christina said defensively as if it would excuse her behavior.</p>
<p><br/>
Christina looked back at the two dead bodies and sighed.</p>
<p><br/>
"I'm gonna go get trash bags."</p>
<p><br/>
As she walked toward the stairs, Ruby asked:</p>
<p><br/>
"What is going to happen on the equinox?"</p>
<p><br/>
Christina stopped.</p>
<p><br/>
"And why do you need Atticus for it?"</p>
<p><br/>
Christina turned around and walked back to Ruby. She placed a hand on the nearest table, leaning on it as she stood in front of her.</p>
<p><br/>
"The thing I've been working towards. I'm going to do the one thing no one has ever achieved before. I'm going to become immortal. My father's views on magic were limited, he was arrogant with it, but he never understood half of what he was doing. I do. I understand it completely. But there is still so much to learn. So many opportunities. I want a life of opportunities. A life of firsts. But to do that, I need Atticus. His life force. All of it. It's sad but it's necessary."</p>
<p><br/>
"Is that why you approached me, to get to Atticus?"</p>
<p><br/>
Christina crossed her arms.</p>
<p><br/>
"Atticus was always on a crash course, he was always going to return to Ardham whether he wanted to or not. All I did was see an opportunity and take it. Make things a little simpler for me. But I never asked you about Atticus, did I?"</p>
<p><br/>
"And yet of all the women out there you could have chosen... I know a hustle when I see one. My momma was a hustler. Leti's pretty good at it too."</p>
<p><br/>
"I'm not your momma or your sister," Christina replied. "And if you can't see the difference... I never lied to you, Ruby, not once. I had plans, I knew where every domino had to fall for this to happen. And then there's you... I never planned on you. But I offered you nothing but loyalty and trust, and the universe in the palm of your hand."</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby looked into Christina's eyes then. There was something clear in them, behind the icy blue. It gave her chills.</p>
<p><br/>
"What about Leti? What are your plans for her?"</p>
<p><br/>
"Nothing. If she doesn't stand in my way then I have no reason to hurt her."</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby shook her head, taking a step closer to Christina.</p>
<p><br/>
"Not good enough. Promise me that you won't hurt her, not touch a single hair on her head."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina continued to stare into her eyes so that Ruby could see the genuineness in them when she said:</p>
<p><br/>
"You have my word."</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby continued to stare into her eyes for a moment. Then, she stepped away, toward the body of the dead woman.</p>
<p><br/>
"Well? Those damn bags aren't going to bring themselves? And don't forget the hacksaw."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina smirked.</p>
<p><br/>
"You know, when I imagined myself white, I always imagined myself a redhead."</p><hr/>
<p>The equinox was but a few days away. Christina had been working and reworking the spell day-in and day-out, to the point that Ruby was the one who had to remind her that she needed to sleep, or even live a little. Christina said that she would have all the time to live once the ritual had been completed. Still, Ruby managed to drag the blonde out of the house for a quiet night into town.</p>
<p><br/>
They were driving home, gentle music playing on the radio. The road was quiet. It had been a nice evening, Ruby thought as she looked out the window. She looked back at the road ahead, just in time to see a man appear out of thin air right in front of them.</p>
<p><br/>
"Watch out!"</p>
<p><br/>
Christina swerved to avoid the man. The silver car bucked under the sudden motion, and as Christina tried to keep control of the wheels, they crashed. The metal bent against a streetlight post. Christina passed through the window and tumbled into the grass. Ruby, by some miracle, was left in her seat, unscathed. Still, Christina hurried back to the car, panic sipping into her every bone.</p>
<p><br/>
"Ruby!" she called out.</p>
<p><br/>
"I'm alright," Ruby said as she shook off the shock from the crash.</p>
<p><br/>
Christina hurried to try and get Ruby out of the wreck. She'd barely touched the broken car door when she felt the air leaving her lungs. She gasped. She fell to her knees, struggling to breathe.</p>
<p><br/>
"Christina!"</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby struggled with the car door. She suddenly feared that a piece of glass had somehow bypassed her invulnerability spell and lodged itself in her chest. As she pushed the door open, it shut itself violently, the metal bending inward, locking her in.</p>
<p><br/>
"Christina!"</p>
<p><br/>
The blonde was still struggling on the ground, making desperate little strangled sounds as she attempted to breathe. A blonde man in a suit was standing in front of her. He was old, and Ruby had never seen him before. </p>
<p><br/>
"This is my last warning," he said to Christina. "If you pursue this any further, I will have no trouble putting an end to this Braithwhite bloodline."</p>
<p><br/>
He muttered a few words and Christina let out a long, whistling sound, as air finally returned to her lungs. It was followed by coarse coughs as Christina fell on all fours and tried to breathe. Ruby pushed against the car door hard, twice, before the bent metal gave out and she ran out of the wrecked car. She fell on her knees beside Christina and rubbed her back as the blonde was still struggling to breathe.</p>
<p><br/>
"Who was that?" Ruby asked worriedly.</p>
<p><br/>
Christina took a deep breath as she tried to calm her adrenaline-filled heart.</p>
<p><br/>
"That was Titus Braithwhite, my ancestor."</p><hr/>
<p>Ruby watched as Christina paced around the basement. She wasn't walking to clear her thoughts, Ruby knew, but mostly because she couldn't stand still, not at that moment.</p>
<p><br/>
"If he isn't dead, then why did no one know?" Ruby asked as it seemed the most logical thing to ask.</p>
<p><br/>
"I don't know," Christina answered. "I should have known. It all pointed to this, but I wouldn't see it. I wanted to be the first so badly..."</p>
<p><br/>
"Are we sure he succeeded his immortality spell, or maybe someone brought him back to life?"</p>
<p><br/>
Christina shook her head.</p>
<p><br/>
"It doesn't work like that. The longer someone is dead the harder it is to bring them back. To bring him back now would have been almost impossible. Even I couldn't do it."</p>
<p><br/>
She finally stopped passing and leaned over the table, facing Ruby who sat on the other side.</p>
<p><br/>
"There's only one way he's still alive, and it's with an immortality ritual."</p>
<p><br/>
"What are you going to do now? He knows about your ritual, and I doubt he'll hesitate to come after you."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina pushed herself away from the table. There was determination in her eyes. Her jaw was tense, her features hard.</p>
<p><br/>
"I'm not backing down. Not after everything I've had to go through. We're too close."</p>
<p><br/>
She walked around the table to stand by Ruby.</p>
<p><br/>
"He's not going to scare me. I'll just have to do the ritual as quickly as I can. Once I'm immortal he won't be able to touch me either."</p>
<p><br/>
She paused then and sat down beside Ruby. The icy determination in her face shifted to something softer. Ruby had gotten used to seeing it by now. The sight of it stirred something within her that she wasn't sure she was ready to think about yet.</p>
<p><br/>
"I just want to make sure you'll be safe."</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby was about to protest but the look in Christina's eyes was enough to keep her quiet, if for just a moment.</p>
<p><br/>
"I know you don't want my protection. I know you're very capable of protecting yourself. But this is different. He's seen you. If he comes for me he might come for you too. I don't want to think about it, but if I fail..."</p>
<p><br/>
"You won't," Ruby said swiftly, though she wasn't sure anymore who she was trying to comfort.</p>
<p><br/>
"Should I fail, I don't want to die thinking you're at his mercy. Allow me this one thing, please."</p>
<p><br/>
After a short moment, Ruby nodded. Christina spoke the words and Ruby felt burning on the side of her thigh. She didn't need to lift her dress to know what had appeared there. The Mark of Cain.</p>
<p><br/>
"My death won't bring an end to the spell," Christina said.</p>
<p><br/>
She stood up. Ruby pursed her lips, as her thoughts wandered to the tightness in her chest. In her opinion, this feeling could only mean trouble.</p>
<p><br/>
"Now let's get to bed. You must be tired."</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby felt the weight of the day crashing on her, and she welcomed the idea of sleep.</p><hr/>
<p>The kiss had been quite a surprise for both of them. Ruby thought that Christina would never dare, not in her true skin anyway. She'd began to wonder if Christina needed the armor that William provided her to be able to express her true feelings. But there was no William now, not anymore. It was a surprise for her too. She'd never kissed a woman before. She found she quite liked it. And the rest, well, she already knew Christina to be a skilled lover. Having her real, delicate hands on her body was just an altogether different, if still pleasing, sensation.</p>
<p><br/>
They laid in bed under the satin sheets when Christina's walls seemed to rebuild in front of Ruby's very eyes. It was like feeling the air shift with coldness in September, announcing the arrival of winter. Christina stood up and reached for her robe, abandoned on a chair in the morning.</p>
<p><br/>
"I have to finish checking my calculations," she said vaguely.</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby leaned on her side, her hand supporting her head. How quickly all warmth seemed to have receded within Christina's soul. It was like a treasure on a deserted island. You'd have to search and search for weeks on end to find it, and when you finally do and catch a glimpse of the gold within, the chest sinks further down, requiring more hours of work to dig it back up.</p>
<p><br/>
"I saw Leti this morning," she said, hoping to catch Christina's attention and get a chance to speak with her. "She told me something you won't like. I hope she was lying."</p>
<p><br/>
"Are you going to tell me about it?" Christina asks as she finally returns to bed, and sits down at the edge, reminding Ruby of the many times she saw William doing the same.</p>
<p><br/>
"They found the Book of Names."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina's eyes grew wide.</p>
<p><br/>
"They have the Book of Names?"</p>
<p><br/>
"I saw it, or at the very least it looked like it."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina stood up and turned her back to Ruby as if she were thinking. She only moved again to reach for her clothes.</p>
<p><br/>
"Christina, you're not going after it, are you?"</p>
<p><br/>
Christina discarded her robe and struggled into the first pair of pants she could find.</p>
<p><br/>
"Think about it, Ruby. If I have the Book, I can find another way. I don't have to use Tic, I can do it without him. I won't fight them for it, but if he values his life even a little bit, he'll let me have it."</p>
<p><br/>
"Wait, there's more."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina paused, now wearing pants and a bra. Reddish marks peppered her shoulders and upper chest, and her hair was still terribly disheveled, making for a strange if somewhat arousing picture. Ruby had to fight the urge to undress the blonde again. She sat down at the edge of the bed, dragging the cover with her.</p>
<p><br/>
"They're planning something. A way to banish you from your magic. Leti asked me to gather something from you for the spell."</p>
<p><br/>
"Will you?" Christina asked, suddenly terribly afraid of the answer.</p>
<p><br/>
"Of course not! I thought you trusted me!"</p>
<p><br/>
"Sorry, I just..."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina finally returned to the bed and sat down beside Ruby.</p>
<p><br/>
"So what? You think that if I go there, they'll knock me down and take a sample from me?"</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby shook her head.</p>
<p><br/>
"Their plans will fail. They need a sample from Titus. Leti said they tried summoning his ghost but it didn't work."</p>
<p><br/>
"Of course not, the bastard isn't dead yet! Do they know?"</p>
<p><br/>
"If they do, it's not from me. But trust me, she's not going to give up. They're not going to give up. They'll try something during the ritual. If you really want that book, it'll come to you. You just have to wait."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina nodded. She trusted Ruby's idea completely.</p>
<p><br/>
"I've waited a long time already. What's a few more days?"</p>
<p><br/>
Ruby smiled and leaned in to kiss Christina. Now there was a feeling she would probably never tire of.</p>
<p><br/>
"Hey, since you're already clothed, why don't you go and start working on dinner? I need a bath first."</p>
<p><br/>
Christina rolled her eyes, but picked up a polo shirt and slit in on, before stealing one last kiss and leaving the bedroom.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The night of the equinox is finally upon them...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ruby was right. They did try something before the ceremony. And they did bring the book with them. But their attempt was thwarted easily. Soon enough, everyone was standing by the stone table under the supervision of the people of Ardham. Leti had struggled the longest, thanks to her mark, but eventually, they'd managed to grappled her.</p><p><br/>Ruby stood beside them, keeping an eye on her sister and Tic's family as Christina got ready for the ritual. She'd gotten her hands on the book not two minutes ago, and like a child being gifted a new toy, she had to flip through it. Atticus was already strapped by leather bounds to a metal rack, standing on it and waiting to be sacrificed. Torches burned on all corners of the ruin.</p><p><br/>"I can't believe you're letting her go through with it," Leti said to her sister.</p><p><br/>Ruby looked down at her. She thought the hatred in Leti's eyes would hurt, but it didn't, not that much. She'd made her peace with it that this was the final line, and there would be no forgiveness, no reconciliation following that night.</p><p><br/>"She's worked too hard for this," Ruby mutters under her breath.</p><p><br/>She couldn't help but be on her guard, her eyes darting around and looking through the darkness for any sign of Titus.</p><p><br/>"Ruby, you barely know her! What's to say she won't betray you the second she gets what she wants."</p><p><br/>"You really think you can turn me against her now?" Ruby asked. "It's too late for that."</p><p><br/>Ruby's eyes continued to dart around the surrounding darkness. When she thought she saw a shadow moving, she shouted:</p><p><br/>"Christina! It's time!"</p><p><br/>Christina appeared at the top of the steps, wearing a gorgeous white lace dress that Ruby had no doubt wouldn't stay white for long. In one hand she carried the Book of Name, and in the other, a dagger. She walked down and around the rack, and placed both the book and the dagger on a small stone pedestal.</p><p><br/>"The moon is high enough," she said. "It's time to beginning."</p><p><br/>Leti continued to struggle but she was kept on the ground by one of the pitchfork-carrying men. Ruby watched as Christina began to recite the words of the ritual. She picked up the dagger and approached Tic. Despite having made up her mind, Ruby found it difficult to watch the blonde approach her childhood friend to kill him.</p><p><br/>"Close your eyes," she told Leti. "You don't have to see this."</p><p><br/>Leti glared at her and refused to listen. Christina raised the dagger, ready to slice into Tic's arms. The dagger disappeared. One moment it was in Christina's hand, and in the blink of an eye, it wasn't. Christina looked around furiously. Titus was standing at the edge of the stone ground, the dagger in hand, only the front of his body lit by the torchlight.</p><p><br/>"I warned you. You wouldn't listen. You have left me no other choice."</p><p><br/>He began an incantation. Something materialized in the shadows behind him. The thing approached out of the darkness, and they all watched in horror as shadow people walked into the light.</p><hr/><p>Ardham people turned to fight the shadows, but there was only so much they could do when their spears and pitchforks passed through the shadows, leaving them unharmed. A struggle broke out. Atticus' family managed to free themselves. Behind them, the shadows had been entering the living, taking over their bodies. Dark veins danced on their skins, as their eyes turned completely black, like pools of ink. Now a new kind of fight broke out, one in which shadow controlled people fought against the ones who'd yet to be taken over.</p><p><br/>Ruby tried to run to Christina's help, but Leti punched her angrily, stunning her in place.</p><p><br/>"What the fuck!" Ruby shouted back.</p><p><br/>"I'm not going to let you help her while she's still trying to kill Tic!"</p><p><br/>"Do you really think this is the moment for that? Now!"</p><p><br/>Behind them, Hippolyta struggled to pull Montrose out of the shadowy claws of one of the specters.</p><p><br/>"You wanted a piece of Titus? Here he is!" Ruby shouted at Leti, pointing to the man walking through the chaos in Christina's direction.</p><p><br/>Letitia was stunned for a moment, confused. She looked behind her at Ji-ah, who had heard Ruby.</p><p><br/>"We can take him out with Hanna's spell," Leti said.</p><p><br/>"But at what cost?" Ruby replied.</p><p><br/>"One we don't have time to discuss."</p><hr/><p>Christina had lunged for the nearest weapon she could find, a spear. If she could complete the ritual now, before Titus got to her, then it would be too late. As she grabbed the staff a foot came down on the blade, hard enough to make the weapon shake. Christina looked up just in time to see one of the people of Ardham, with inky eyes and black smoke emanating from them. He tried to kick her in the face but she was quick to react, blocking the foot with her hands before it could touch her chin. The impact still sent her back, but she scrambled to her feet swiftly.</p><p><br/>When the pitchfork lunged for her she sidestepped it and managed to pry it out of the man's hands and knock him back with the blunt tip of it. When he charged again, she stabbed him with the fork. As he fell to the ground, motionless, the shadow evaporated away from him and materialized beside the body.</p><p><br/>Christina lunged for the dead man's belt picked up the hunting knife there. She wasted no time returning to the rack. Tic had been struggling against his binding.</p><p><br/>"Let me down!" he shouted.</p><p><br/>"I can't," Christina said.</p><p><br/>She began the incantation again, hurriedly, the words jumbling on her tongue like so many wagons of a train barreling down a hill with broken brakes. She raised the knife again but felt something coming behind her. She turned around, making a large sweeping motion with her knife. It passed through black smoke. The ceremonial dagger gleamed on the other side. Christina's eyes grow wide as she felt the pain of broken skin, split muscle, severed blood vessels, and pierced organs. Her nerves were crying with agony. The hunting knife tumbled out of her hands. When she pulled the dagger out, blood poured from the wound, staining the immaculate dress.</p><p><br/>Christina stumbled back. Her shoulders hit the rack, Atticus' legs beside her. She slid to the ground with a groan. She hadn't dropped the dagger yet. Titus was standing over her, holding the hunting knife. It didn't register to her yet that the blood on the blade she was holding was hers. All she could think about was the previous time she had almost died, and the pain then and the pain now. And that voice that suddenly came back in her mind. I don't want to die.</p><p><br/>"Now this is even better," Titus said. "I had gone to exterminate one branch and you bring me another cursed bloodline. I can now take care of both."</p><p><br/>Titus raised the blade. Christina found the bit of strength she has left, and lifted the sacrificial dagger into a wide, swift arc over her head. Tic closed his eyes fearfully, waiting to feel pain. The dagger's point was so sharp, it cut through his chest strap and the strap around his left wrist, leaving a single deep cut on the side of his arms. His blood didn't gush out much, but he felt her blood smeared on the blade mixing with his, and he took it as an opportunity. He pulled on the last restraint and managed to slip his hand free from the restraint. Before Titus could recover from the surprise, Atticus punched him hard. Titus fell to the ground, losing his grip on the dagger. Atticus then began to recite a spell the likes of which Christina had never heard. Dark smoke began to brew above them, hiding the moon. The others seemed to have noticed, as Leti grabbed the book and opened it. She began reciting the spell too. Even Ruby, standing by her sister's side, caught up on the words quickly enough that she soon joined.</p><p><br/>Tic felt a hand on his shoulder. Christina was leaning on him, struggling to stand, her other hand on her wound as if it could contain the flow of blood. She heard the words, she repeated them weakly, thoughtlessly, but with all of her intentions on putting an end to Titus.</p><p><br/>Long furry tendrils suddenly wrapped around Atticus' waist, and Titus'. Ji-ah screamed in pain but held on as everyone continued to chant. The darkness suddenly became bright whiteness, as everyone was thrown about the ruins. The shadow people dissipated with a shrill scream. When the light receded and the night returned, Christina had lost consciousness.</p><hr/><p>She awakened with a gasp and pain sprang from her abdomen. Christina grimaced and lifted the soft pajama shirt she was wearing. There was a bandage on the side of her belly, a single square of white gauze. She looked around. She was home, in her bedroom. She wondered for how long she'd been out. It took her a few minutes of deep thinking to remember what had happened on the equinox. She'd failed.</p><p><br/>She tried to get out of bed, but the pain in her belly was too strong. No matter, she thought. The mark of Cain would heal her. She recited the words she knew by heart. Nothing changed. She frowned in confusion and tried again. Still, the sting continued burning under her skin, out of sight under the bandage. With difficulty she moved to the edge of the bed, sat up, then finally with the help of a chair, she managed to stand up. She couldn't stand to her full stature as the pain kept her bent forward, a hand on the wound. Slowly but surely, she made her way down the staircase without tripping. Then, into the basement. The door wasn't locked. It wasn't even magically sealed. She walked down the steps. At least this time the lab was untouched.</p><p><br/>She began looking for spells and ingredients. Maybe the events of the equinox had drained her more than she thought, and she needed something to boost her energy before she could cast the mark again. She went about carefully, one hand still on her belly, containing the pain in the palm of her hand, as she moved around the basement, getting whatever she needed.</p><p><br/>It wasn't long before Ruby arrived. She looked as though she'd gone out, maybe to buy some groceries. She came down the stairs hurriedly.</p><p><br/>"What are you doing out of bed?" she asked. "You should be resting or you're going to reopen your stitches. Ji-ah was nice enough to stitch you up once, she's not going to do it twice."</p><p><br/>Still, Christina ignored her. Ruby went to place her hands on her shoulders, trying to stir her toward the stairs, but Christina wouldn't budge. Her long hair was a tangled mess and it fell in tired wisps in front of her eyes.</p><p><br/>"No need. Once I've cast the mark I'll be as good as new."</p><p><br/>Ruby's face fell, although Christina couldn't see it immediately. It was only when she felt Ruby's hand slide from her shoulder to her arm, the crook of her elbow, her forearm, her wrist until it held her hand and stopped her from working entirely. This finally snapped Christina out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at Ruby.</p><p><br/>"You don't remember?"</p><p><br/>Christina could only blink as she tried to remember whatever Ruby was trying to tell her about.</p><p><br/>"Remember what?"</p><p><br/>"The spell Atticus cast on the equinox."</p><p><br/>Christina tried to remember what spell it was. She vaguely remembered the words, but couldn't remember what they did, if she'd ever known what they did.<br/>"What are you talking about?"</p><p><br/>"Christina..."</p><p><br/>Christina disentangled her hand from Ruby's to face the other woman. She struggled to stand as tall as she wanted, leaning on the table not out of style but out of necessity.</p><p><br/>"Just... just tell me."</p><p><br/>Ruby rubbed her hands nervously.</p><p><br/>"I'm sorry, but the spell Tic used, it took everyone's magic away. Only people from Tic's family can use it now."</p><p><br/>Christina leaned more heavily against the table. There was deep confusion in her mind, the likes of which she'd never felt before. She tried to make sense of the feelings in her chest, but the side of her belly was killing any thoughts before they could even form.</p><p><br/>"But... but I'm part of Tic's family..." she replied.</p><p><br/>"Oh... No, I mean, people from his bloodline. His son."</p><p><br/>Still, Christina didn't seem to grasp what Ruby was telling her. She turned away from the other woman and hunched over the table until her forearms lay flat on the desk. Then, her forehead came to rest on the cold pile of papers. Ruby waited anxiously for a reaction, any reaction. It came in the form of a single, powerful sob which seemed to tear through Christina's whole body. It was followed by a scream, a roar of agony. She violently brushed all the papers off the table with a single sweep. The wound on her side flared up, and she lost her balance. Ruby was there to catch her when the anger turned to sudden sadness. She wrapped her arms around her and held her as tears dug pathways over her cheeks.</p><p><br/>Christina couldn't stand on her trembling legs anymore, so Ruby helped her to the floor, where the blonde curled up against her. Another cry tore through her lips as more pain came from her belly. A less tangible one tore through her chest, and never before had Christina felt her soul so vividly. There was a hole getting torn through it, she was sure of it.</p><p><br/>As another sob tore through her lungs, Ruby held her as best as she could.</p><hr/><p>In the following days, despite Ruby's insistence, Christina refused to stay in bed. Ruby told her she could work from her bed but Christina wouldn't believe her. She wanted to be down there, in the basement. A lot of magic had come from this basement. If there was one place where it could still work, it was down there. Ruby had grown tired of arguing with her and had instead decided to leave her be, going down only to remind her to eat and bringing her back to bed to make sure she got some sleep. It was exhausting, to say the least. Ruby knew Christina was in shock, but if the delusion didn't break on its own, she knew she would have to break it herself.</p><p><br/>Four days after Christina had woken up, there was a knock at the door. Ruby knew full well that Christina wouldn't answer, so she went. It was Atticus. She glared at him with all her might.</p><p><br/>"You don't think you've done enough?"</p><p><br/>"I just want to talk to her," Atticus said defensively. "Leti said you told her Christina woke up."</p><p><br/>"Yes, she woke up. And now she won't leave her dungeon cause she thinks she can get her magic back. I hope you're proud of yourself."</p><p><br/>"She was this close to killing me and you still defend her? We did the right thing and you know it."</p><p><br/>"That's easy for you to say now."</p><p><br/>"Please, just let me talk to her."</p><p><br/>Ruby rolled her eyes.</p><p><br/>"If you're so eager to die, go for it."</p><p><br/>She let him in, and Atticus followed Ruby to the staircase leading to the basement.</p><p><br/>"You've got a visitor," she shouted down the stairs, before motioning with a nod for Atticus to walk down.</p><p><br/>Atticus made his way down and found Christina seating behind her desk. She was glaring daggers at him, but there was something different about her. She wasn't as proper as she used to be. She looked tired. Her face was chalk-white pale. The red-rimmed of her eyes told him that she might have cried before he came in.</p><p><br/>"I didn't take you for the type to gloat, dear cousin," she said with venom in her voice. "So please, be quick about it. I have work to do."</p><p><br/>Atticus crossed his arms and stood a reasonable distance from her.</p><p><br/>"It's not going to work," he said. "You don't have magic anymore, you can't restore it like that."</p><p><br/>"Thank you for your demoralizing contribution. You can leave now."</p><p><br/>Christina ignored him and returned to work. But Atticus didn't move. Instead, he said:</p><p><br/>"I came to tell you something. We searched through Titus' house yesterday."</p><p><br/>Christina frowned.</p><p><br/>"Titus?"</p><p><br/>"Didn't Ruby tell you? He's dead. We killed him."</p><p><br/>Christina shrugged. She and Ruby had barely spoken since she'd woken up. Most of what Ruby talked about nowadays was limited to dinner time, bedtime, and trying to get her out of the basement in general.</p><p><br/>"I hope he suffered," she said, before looking back at her work.</p><p><br/>"Anyway, we went through his house and he had a lot of magical things. We don't understand most of it and I thought maybe you could take a look."</p><p><br/>She glared at him.</p><p><br/>"Why? I don't have powers anymore, remember?"</p><p><br/>"Because you know about these things, more than we do."</p><p><br/>"Twisting the knife, hm? I never thought this was your style."</p><p><br/>Atticus groaned with annoyance.</p><p><br/>"Goddamn it, Christina. I'm trying to give you a chance. I want to believe that you set me free because you chose to, not because you wanted to save your own skin, but you're making it difficult."</p><p><br/>"What do you want me to say?" Christina replied with equal annoyance. "You just took my life away from me. Magic was all I knew, and you took it away from me."</p><p><br/>"You helped me take it away from you," he reminded her. "You were there, right by my side, sharing your energy with me. I would have died using that spell if it weren't for you. So if you want your revenge, come on, just do it now."</p><p><br/>He held out his arms wide, waiting.</p><p><br/>"Go on, kill me. I know you want to."</p><p><br/>She stared at him, not amused by his antics in the slightest.</p><p><br/>"Do you think I'm stupid? I know you have at least some sort of spell protecting you. You would have never come here if you hadn't."</p><p><br/>Atticus lowered his arms.</p><p><br/>"Fine. So you won't help?"</p><p><br/>She didn't answer, which he understood as a confirmation.</p><p><br/>"Have a good life in your basement. You know, you should live a little. There are millions of people out there living without magic, every day. If you keep crying about what you lost, you'll never enjoy what you have."</p><p><br/>He walked up the steps and shut the door behind him loudly. Christina tried to return to her work, but his words kept echoing back to her. She looked down at her work. She had gone nowhere in the past few days. She kept telling herself that it didn't matter, that in time she would find the answer. She always did. Giving up was not in her blood. But neither was magic now. The metamorphosis potions didn't even work anymore.</p><p><br/>She threw her pencil away and it clattered on the ground. Another sob tore through her but she strangled it. She'd cried too much in the past few days to cry again. She couldn't let Atticus' words get to her, she kept telling herself.</p><p><br/>She didn't know how long she spent, lost deep in her thoughts. She was pulled out by music. It was playing from outside the room. Slowly, she left her stool and went up the steps. As she opened the door, the music became louder, calling her forward. She walked silently through the house until she reached the living room.</p><p><br/>Ruby was seating on the couch, guitar in her lap, practicing. She played about a third of a song Christina didn't know until she stopped on a wrong note. She grumbled, readjusted her grip on the instrument, and started playing again. Entranced, Christina stayed at the doorstep of the room, listening in quietly. This was it, she thought. Magic. It was back, and it was right there in front of her eyes. How could she have forgotten? How could she have missed it?</p><p><br/>Ruby must have felt her gaze on her as she eventually stopped and turned around.</p><p><br/>"Finally out of your hole?" she said jokingly.</p><p><br/>"Please don't stop playing," Christina said.</p><p><br/>Ruby laughed and waved the blonde over.</p><p><br/>"Alright then."</p><p><br/>Christina sat on the couch beside her and Ruby started playing again. Christina closed her eyes and leaned closer to her lover, listening closely to every note. Ruby began singing softly then. And deep in her chest, Christina felt it. The magic had returned. She hated that Atticus had been right.</p><p><br/>Ruby played until the song was over. For a moment, she thought Christina had fallen asleep, but a beat after the song had ended, her bright blue eyes opened and stared at her.<br/>"Another?" she asked.</p><p><br/>Ruby shook her head with a smile.</p><p><br/>"How about you play something for me?"</p><p><br/>"I don't know how to play the guitar. I took piano lessons when I was a child but I hated it. I doubt I was any good."</p><p><br/>"Come on, I'll show you."</p><p><br/>Before Christina could complain, the guitar was placed on her lap and Ruby slid closer to her. She positioned the guitar correctly and helped her get a good grip on it. Christina was stunned at first. Ruby's arms wrapped around hers and she took her hands in hers. This was the closest they had been since Christina's breakdown a few days prior, but it didn't feel the same. This was different. It made Christina's heart feel lighter.</p><p><br/>"Hold it like this, and..."</p><p><br/>Holding Christina's hand in hers, Ruby helped her strum the strings.</p><p><br/>"And here you are, your first note."</p><p><br/>Christina quickly lost focus on the instrument. Instead, she turned her head to look at Ruby. They were so close. Her eyes found Ruby's. She leaned in, kissing her deeply. Ruby reciprocated the kiss, cupping Christina's jaws in her hand. The guitar was promptly forgotten, until it almost slipped from Christina's grip, forcing the couple to tear apart before the instrument could fall.</p><p><br/>"If you kiss me every time you make a note were never gonna get through the song," Ruby joked.</p><p><br/>"I don't care," Christina replied seriously, her eyes never leaving Ruby's. "We have all the time in the world."</p><p><br/>She placed the guitar on the table in front of them without looking before leaning in for another kiss. Soon enough, she was climbing onto Ruby's lap as Ruby's hand settled on her thighs, keeping her close. The guitar now lay forgotten on the table, where it would remind for the rest of the day.</p><p><br/>In time Christina's soul would heal. The gnawing pain of failure and loss eating away at her chest would dull, like the edge of a knife. Her days were numbers. Yet still, there was a chance for her life to be full of firsts, and she was determined to take it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey guys! I hope you weren't too disappointed that Christina still lost her magic. I think she would have needed to anyway to be able to move on and maybe have the redemption arc I wish she'd been given. If she'd kept her magic, she would have just continued to try again and again. We're the same in that regard, as I stubbornly continue to write day after day.<br/>Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this story, that it made you feel a little better reading it, like it made me feel a little better writing it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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